Page 52 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)
The bear, the wolf, and the eagle converged, their blades unsheathed and glimmering from the reflection of the flickering fires in their sconces on the walls.
Raithe and I stood side by side, our own blades raised high, our shadows swirling around our feet like a whirlpool.
Not separate streams, but one flowing entity.
The bear came for me first, raising his two-handed sword and crushing the space I’d been in before I hopped to the side.
He growled as I spun around him easily. His mask was a clear reflection of the sheer strength he carried, but his heavy build combined with limited space for his greatsword meant he was clumsy and slow.
I sheathed my blade and assessed my opponent.
Speed was my ally and my friend here. It would not fail me now.
He came for me again, his sweeping arcs loaded with anger.
I dodged them, then realised too late he was driving me towards the cave wall.
My spine hit the rock with a thud, my eyes widening as the deadly edge of that sword came plummeting down.
I shifted as it ploughed into the stone, causing a huge chunk to crumble.
I lost my breath as a giant fist rammed into my stomach.
The breath wheezed out of me as I felt a rib bone crack from the force.
“Do not falter,” Raithe shouted down the bond. “Do not yield.”
My body bent against its will, slumping against the wall until the bear grabbed me by the hair and punched me in the jaw.
Stars burst behind my eyes, my vision wavering as darkness threatened to take me.
But the darkness was my friend, and I was its master.
I flexed my hand, willing my shadows to form vines that wrapped around the bear and kept his limbs in check.
He grunted, snapping the tendrils with bulging muscles.
His grip on my hair loosened enough for me to slump down the wall to a crouch, where I palmed the dagger still strapped at my thigh and drove up with a powerful surge, plunging that blade into his stomach.
His cry of pain and fury was enough to make me tighten my grip and strike that blade into his body again and again.
Blood dripped onto the ground, and he stumbled back a couple of times before looking at me once more.
I’d thought he would fall to his knees. Instead, the battle ram charged at me with his full weight and made it all of three steps before Raithe conjured his shadow wings, launched into the air—effectively batting his opponents aside—and used the bear’s momentum to carry them both directly to the wall, where the male’s head smashed under impact.
Blood and gore slipped down the wall, and the bear’s body crumpled to a pile at its base.
I didn’t have time to celebrate. Not as the wolf reoriented himself while Raithe’s attention had shifted to the bear, and came at my mate’s back with his sword held high.
I didn’t think, didn’t act on anything but instinct as I held my blade and shadow-walked until I stood before him, my blade arcing up beneath the ribs and directly into his heart before he even knew I was there.
The male gasped as he stood before me, impaled and unmoving, as if my sword was anchoring his feet to the ground.
He pulled his mask off, as if needing to take a final breath of fresh air, then his brown eyes glossed over me.
He was incredibly handsome, with a chiselled face, welcoming lips, and hair to drag your hands through.
The kind of face that females would swoon for—the kind that so often masked the monster beneath.
How many females had fallen by his hands or his order?
Just one was too many, so I put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in as I twisted my blade.
A strangled gurgle sounded in my ear before I withdrew my sword and stepped away as his body fell.
Raithe had taken up a fight with the eagle.
The pair moved so similarly, they could have been each other’s mirror image.
Shadows flared from both males, striking and blocking, arcing and soaring.
Neither seemed able to gain the upper hand until the eagle rolled, grabbing some dirt in his palm before flinging it at Raithe’s eyes.
He grunted and raised an arm, giving the eagle time to land a cut in Raithe’s side.
My stomach lurched as the eagle then sliced at Raithe’s thigh, causing him to stumble slightly.
Blood flicked over the ground, but even then, my mate didn’t falter.
Instead, he wrapped a tendril of shadow around the wound and charged.
I stared in awe at the two males as they fought.
Raithe’s opponent was clearly war-trained and no stranger to a sword, but he was slower than my mate.
Probably a lot older, too. Which was perhaps the only reason Raithe managed to charge through the eagle’s guard to headbutt him on the temple before knocking the male out with a blow from his sword pommel.
I turned towards the two remaining members of the Pentad.
The lion still cowered in the corner behind the table and chairs, while the sea serpent remained seated, utterly nonchalant.
It was unnerving. My eyes flickered over his golden mask, his robes, then the cup before him. It was full and appeared untouched.
“That’s right,” the sea serpent said, aware of my gaze.
“I didn’t drink your poison brew, because I know who you are, Aeris Lockhart.
My comrades, on the other hand … They were no longer fit for their positions.
Lazy, whoremongering fools who became too comfortable with the luxuries afforded them.
You’ve done me a favour, removing them, and will be rewarded.
I want to build a new world, Aeris. I want to restore power to those worthy of it. ”
The way he said my name … it sent an oily feeling of dread through my veins. Even with the mask muffling his voice, my name on his lips felt overly familiar. I had suspected the serpent might have been Raithe’s father …Trepidation warred with my anger, but I shook it off and focused.
“You mean you want to overthrow those ruling the Shadow Court and continue your barbaric traditions,” I hissed. I looked at my friend, my lover, my mate, and smiled. “We will build a new world, but you will not be a part of it. Not for a second.”
That snake mask swivelled to Raithe momentarily before the dark eyes behind it darted back to me. A low, muffled laugh followed. “So the lady has indeed fallen for the lord. A poetic turn of events, don’t you think?”
“A poetic end, maybe,” Raithe supplied with a cruel grin. “For you.”
I gripped my sword firmly and stepped forward. “Stop stalling, snake, and meet your end with dignity.”
Silence reigned for a few seconds, then he stood. “Very well. Let us begin.”
Darkness fell over the serpent, as sudden as a lunar eclipse, and I blinked at the abrupt change in light.
My shadows seemed to shrink back at the sheer power vibrating from the other side of the room. “Raithe?”
“It’s not me,” he said. “This male is strong, Aeris, the magic old and trained. Be on your guard.”
Light flared back into the room just as suddenly, and I found myself looking at six different sea serpents, all in a semicircle across the room. They each laughed in unison, the creepy sound sending a chill up my spine.
“Come,” they said at once.
I grimaced but didn’t hesitate as I charged with Raithe beside me.
My blade cut through one of the illusions, sending it puffing into a plume of shadow.
I turned just in time to parry the blade of another, then screamed as searing heat sliced through my back.
My feet stumbled over each other, but I managed to right my footing just in time to block the blade of my first opponent and send my sword plunging through it.
Raithe did not fare much better. One by one, the wraithlike illusions went down, until it was just the original once more.
The sea serpent clapped his hands, then a flurry of shadow daggers sailed through the air.
We blocked them with our shadows, plucking them from the air and deflecting the strays as they made it through our shield.
“He’s so fast.” I vaulted back, then flung my shadows out in an arc, trying to slice at the sea serpent. He blocked with a lazy wave of his hand.
“Remember what I told you,” Raithe said as he fought, this time blade to blade with the male himself. “Every opponent has a weakness. Find it and use it against them.”
The metallic ring of steel clanged throughout the cave, echoing back to us as the duo moved about the chamber.
I studied them from afar, watching to ensure my mate’s safety whilst looking for something to use against the serpent.
He was good, never missing a beat, always seemingly one step ahead of all Raithe’s moves.
And yet there was a slight hesitation, sometimes a subtle roll of a shoulder after Raithe attacked.
His parries were seconds slower against certain angled attacks on the left side.
Bingo. “His shoulder is weak and stiff,” I told him as I watched. “Keep at it.”
“That’s my girl,” Raithe said as he battled.
I rallied my magic, sending my shadows in a cresting wave to smash against the serpent again and again to keep his wielding focused on defence instead of offence.
He buckled but held his ground as Raithe closed in.
As for my mate … my shadows passed over him, through him, recognising the bond without question.
I watched my magnificent male as he moved gracefully, his slices fluid and his steps perfect.
We were so close. Just a little further and we’d—No.